The Greatest Jersey | Sir Gareth Edwards’ Barbarians Rugby Union Jersey match-worn versus The All Blacks in 1973Jersey & Provenance: in original and complete condition without fault. The personal collection of Sir Gareth Edwards CBE & family.The Match: The Barbarians vs New Zealand match was played at Cardiff Arms Park to a capacity crowd on 27th January 1973. It remains one of the most famous rugby matches of all time, in which certainly the most famous try of all time was scored. ‘That try’…commonly described as ‘the greatest try’ was scored by Sir Gareth - wearing this jersey. The match was the final contest for New Zealand’s 1972/73 tour of the British Isles. It was regarded by the All Blacks as a chance to revenge their test series loss against the British Lions in 1971 - all but three of the Barbarians having been on the ‘71 tour. It was also an opportunity for the British public to see their victorious British Lions in action with some of the most exciting players of a golden era or rugby, including JPR Williams, David Duckham, John Dawes, Phil Bennett, and Wille John McBride. The All Blacks with Sid Going opposite Sir Gareth at scrumhalf and captained by one of the best flankers, Ian Kirkpatrick.The match was spectacular, with some of the best passers, runners, and side-steppers playing in their prime. It was a high energy game full of adventure, running breaks, improvisation, and spontaneity. Especially from the Barbarians, who, coached by Carwyn James, had an appetite to play rugby ‘in the spirit of the Barbarians’. Nigel Starmer-Smith said, 'the match set such a high standard of excellence that it will forever be a yardstick by which games of rugby football union will be judged’. Sean Fitzpatrick said the match ‘inspired me to take up rugby’.The Barbarians won 23–11 with tries from Edwards, Slattery, Bevan and JPR Williams. Grant Batty scored two for the All Blacks.That Try: In the 2nd minute, New Zealand winger Bryan Williams kicked the ball over Phil Bennett deep into the Barbarian’s half. Bennett retrieved it under his own posts, then with virtually the entire field between him and the All Black’s try line, he sidestepped and evaded three tackles. He then passed to JPR, who managed to offload, despite a high tackle. Still deep in their own half, the ball passed through four pairs of Barbarians hands (Pullin, Dawes, Tommy David, and Quinnell) while heading up-field on the left, before Gareth Edwards shot between two team- mates to take the pass from Quinnell.Edwards dived in the left-hand corner for the try at the Taff End, to a rapturous reception. It was 22 exhilarating seconds after Bennett had gathered under his own posts. It would be a try forever etched in rugby folklore and that epitomized all that was good about rugby and teamwork. The Barbarians were not regular team-mates so the try was not one of coaching and drills, instead it was of talented athletes expressing themselves while enjoying the time of their lives. Still to the day, 50 years later the try is known as ‘that try’ and considered the greatest scored. The try is the most iconic in rugby union history bolstered by Cliff Morgan’s spine-tingling commentary, said to be the second most repeated UK TV sporting commentary after Wolstenholme’s ‘They think it’s all over…’.‘Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff. Phil Bennett covering, chased by Alistair Scown. Brilliant, Oh, that’s brilliant….John Williams. Pullin, John Dawes….great dummy, David, Tom David, the half-way line. Brilliant by Quinnell….this is Gareth Edwards. A dramatic start. What a score!’A moment later ‘Oh that fellow Edwards’ and ‘If the greatest writer of the written word would have written that story, no one would have believed it. That really was something’Arguably it was ‘that try’, ‘the greatest try’ which served as Gareth Edwards coronation as the greatest ever player.Sir Gareth Recalls: The game against the All Blacks is one I will never forget and those of us who played in it will never be allowed to forget. It is a match that will live with me forever. People tend only to remember the first four minutes of the game because of the try, but what they forgot is the great deal of good rugby played afterwards, much of which came from the All Blacks. I remember that I was cursing just minutes earlier because Sid Going (New Zealand scrumhalf), hoofed the ball downfield, JPR Williams hoofed it back, Bryan Williams (New Zealand wing) hoofed it downfield once again, I was running in all directions. You are out of breath in the first 10 minutes of any game because your heartrate isn’t settling down, there is a bit of tension and you are a bit nervous, especially in this match. When that ball went back to Phil, I thought ‘he will kick it to touch, we will have a lineout, I will have a bit of a breather’ but just when I was thinking all those glorious things, I looked up and thought ‘where the hell is he going now?I was trying to get out of the way, initially. The movement was all coming towards me, I could see John Dawes, I could see JPR, so I thought I would get out of the way and let the move continue, but then as a scrumhalf I thought I had better get out of there. I did then get there. When I saw the gap, I shouted to Derek Quinnell ‘Twl e ‘ma’ (throw it here). I still remember the thrill, the surge of adrenalin as I took the pass and hit the gain line before sweeping around Karam. I am often asked what was going through my head when I took the pass from Derek. Well, the only thing in my mind was whether my hamstrings would stand up to the all-out sprinting.‘I prayed they wouldn’t seize up in that mad dash for the corner’. Wherever I go in the world, people want to talk about it. In the 1990s, I was fishing in the middle of nowhere in Russia – it was a three-hour helicopter ride from Murmansk. I was staying in a village where the mayor, who was a former nuclear submarine commander, took me back to his house, brought out a DVD, shoved it on the telly and up came that try!“What I loved about it more than anything was the improvisation and the decisions off the ball. There were loads of fabulous play from both teams, some stupendous improvised rugby of playing with the ball in front of you.”Auctioneer’s Note: Eight years ago, we sold captain Dave Gallaher’s All Black jersey from their 1905 tour for £180,000 and I have been asked whether I think another jersey will come close or exceed that world record. Sir Gareth’s Barbarians jersey was always my answer. Gallaher’s jersey was the most significant example from the early years of rugby. But Gallaher was not known of widely beyond New Zealand. Sir Gareth’s Barbarians jersey is not only historic, it is iconic and known the world over. Dreamed of in schoolyards, terraced gardens and bedrooms, it was a try which inspired a generation of children to play the sport. As a Welshman it is good to remind people that the famous match and ‘that try’ is thoroughly Welsh in its character; the match was played in Cardiff, the accompanying iconic commentary from the Welsh voice of Cliff Morgan, the move was started sensationally by Phil Bennett’s sidesteps and then the ball went through a succession of Welsh hands, before being finished emphatically by Sir Gareth. Further, it should be noted that the try was linguistically Welsh too, with Sir Gareth yelling ‘Twl e’ ma’ to his fellow Cymro, Derek Quinnell. For the people of Wales this greatest try reverberates deeply. This is the jersey worn by Sir Gareth – considered the greatest ever, playing in the most famous rugby match. It was – and still is, ‘that try’, the greatest try. It follows, that this is the ‘greatest jersey’. A sporting icon.
